College Bound
by LilStarWriter
Summary: It's a new semester. New and old students are excited for another year of classes. How will Jessie and Dolly handle their first year of college? And when they meet two juniors named Woody and Buzz, the year becomes unforgettable for all of them. AU/Human
1. Chapter 1

**I liked this idea better in my head. But if I get positive feedback then I'll turn it into a multi chapter story like I planned. Plus I need something to do now that I'm done with "Friendly Advice"! Enjoy, and review please!**

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Jessie grunted as she lifted the big box out of her beaten down pickup truck. She placed it on her hip and locked the doors, glad that her dorm wasn't too far away. The hot August sun beat down on her back. She hadn't expected it to be so warm. Then again, she hadn't expected a lot of things that had happened when she set foot on campus an hour ago.

It was her first year of college, only she was going in as a sophomore because of her overachieving grades. Her high school only consisted of about five hundred students, and she had been in the top ten in her class rank.

Leaving her small Texas home had been difficult, but part of her was happy to finally have freedom away from her strict parents. There was only so much restriction a girl could take, and sneaking out wasn't an option after she had almost gotten caught that summer. She wasn't even going to do anything bad, she was going bowling with friends. Bowling! But her parents had over reacted, and Jessie was punished.

In college, they couldn't punish her. She could bowl whenever she wanted to. Jessie leaned her head against the cool glass of the car window before adjusting the box and walking off to her dorm.

The university was already filled with students. Many were outside in the quad*; playing frisbee, jogging, or sitting on benches and around the flagpole in the center of the grassy area. Jessie walked along one of the narrow sidewalks, trying to get to her dorm before her arms fell off from carrying such a heavy load.

Jessie burst into her room and practically threw the box onto her bare mattress. She had barged in so quickly that she didn't notice there was another person until she turned around.

"Oh I'm sorry!" Jessie said, laughing a bit "Guess I made quite an entrance, huh?"

To her relief, the dark haired girl laughed "Yeah, I'm not sure if I'll ever be able to top that one." She reached out her hand "I'm your roommate, Dolly."

Jessie shook it politely "Dolly, that ain't a common name is it?"

"It's a nickname for Donna." Dolly explained.

Jessie nodded, and studied Dolly for a minute. The girl had black hair, with streaks of dark purple in it. Her orange dress would have looked terrible on anyone else, but flattered her short figure perfectly. And her skin was slightly orange.

Dolly noticed Jessie looking at her "Spray tan gone bad. I didn't want to, but my friends forced me, and now I look like a pumpkin."

Jessie laughed "It ain't that bad. Should go away in a bit if I'm correct."

"For my sake, I hope you are" Dolly said.

Jessie and Dolly unpacked and decorated their small room, sharing stories about where they came from. Dolly was from New York, and was a freshman unlike Jessie. They were the same age, loved barbeque, and were insanely nervous about the first day of classes tomorrow.

"Wait, so you've dumped every boyfriend you've had?" Dolly asked, wide-eyed.

"Well yeah. I don't take crap from guys, and the ones I've dated were real jerks." Jessie said. "And they couldn't really handle me. Besides, I don't need a boy. I'm a strong, independent woman and I can take care of myself." Dolly laughed, and Jessie couldn't help but chuckle at her own statement.

The sun was starting to set when Jessie realized she had left a box in the back of her truck. Mentally cursing herself, she told Dolly she'd be back in time to go to dinner with her, and left to get the box.

On her way back from the car it was dusk, and the quad had begun to clear out as people went to dinner and their dorms. Jessie quickened her pace, trying to get to her room quickly before she dropped the box that was equally heavy as the last one.

And she almost made it. Someone crashed into her side and she lost hold of her belongings.

The box fell, spilling books, room decorations, and a photo album onto the ground. Jessie dropped to her knees immediately, silently cursing whoever had run into her for causing her such humiliation. The ribbon in her hair had come untied, and she held it in her hand.

"Oh man! I'm so sorry! Here, let me help." An apologetic male voice sounded, as a boy with light brown hair bent down to the ground and picked up the photo album.

"I've got it." Jessie said a bit rudely, still a bit bitter after the collision. But when she reached for the album she was greeted with a pair of blue eyes that swept away any annoyance.

The boy looked a bit caught off guard as well. They paused for a moment before he cleared his throat and handed her the photos. Jessie put it in her box.

He got to his feet quickly and offered her a hand in getting up. Jessie hesitated for a moment before taking it and standing up with his help, the box balancing on her hip.

The boy cleared his throat again "Um, well, again I'm sorry…for knocking you over."

Jessie stopped staring at him "No, it's fine…um…"

"Buzz." He answered her.

"…Buzz." She said, dragging out the syllable.

"Real name's Ben. I've just been called Buzz forever." He explained, hoping she wouldn't think it was stupid. She smiled.

"I like it. Suits you. Well I've known you for a grand total of five minutes, but it seems to suit you." Jessie rambled. He laughed.

"Well thanks." He said. His eyes drifted to the box. "You want some help with that?"

"I think I can handle it." Jessie said, going back to her independent ways. She wasn't about to treat this boy different from any of the others she had met. "Besides, my dorm's right here."

"Oh. Okay." Buzz looked a bit disappointed.

Jessie held out her hand "It was nice to meet you Buzz. Maybe I'll see you again."

_Hopefully._

He shook her hand, a tiny shock of electricity seeming to fly through it "Likewise." He managed to get out.

She took her hand out of his, and disappeared into her dorm, leaving Buzz frozen outside.

_Wow._

He noticed something yellow and looked down to see that she had left her hair ribbon in his hand.

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**Cheesey ending. Oh well. What did you think? Let me know, good or bad, please!**

***In case you don't know, a quad is kind of like a giant courtyard with sidewalks, benches, and a bunch of grassy terrain. :D**


	2. Jerk?

**Alright, to be honest I really didn't like human/AU toy story fics at first. But I've read some pretty great ones lately and now I'm trying it out myself by continuing this fic. So here we go. *crosses fingers* Hope y'all enjoy!**

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Jessie pressed her back on the outside of her dorm room door.

_What just happened?_

She wasn't one to be super flirty, especially with a boy she hardly knew. Bouts of breakups and unkind words from high school had taught her to be on her guard with guys. But she wasn't an expert on guys. She wasn't the girl who always had a boyfriend, or the slutty, popular, cheerleader that every boy dreamed of. She was just herself. An average girl who had dated a few jerks before.

But this one was different. Then again, weren't they all at the beginning? She hadn't come to college to look for a boyfriend. And heck, she had only spoken to him for a few minutes. It's not a big deal. So why couldn't she just drop it?

Her head was swimming with too much thought, so she pushed open her dorm door, deciding to think later. She set the last box on her bed and found Dolly putting on a jacket.

"Dinner?" Dolly asked, smiling.

"Yes please" Jessie said, happy that she had hit it off so well with her roommate. She grabbed the key and they left the building, hungry for cheap food.

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Buzz stood outside his own door, clutching the yellow ribbon in his hand. He was going into his junior year, but he had transferred from another college, so the campus was new for him. He had met plenty of girls throughout his college experience, even dated two or three. But he always found them shallow, and short minded. They weren't really the girls he wanted to be around.

Jessie hadn't reacted the way he predicted. She was, well, rude at first. For some reason whenever girls first met him they were super giggly and helpless, and clung to his every word. Like a damn damsel in distress. Buzz didn't understand why they did it. And since Jessie didn't, that puzzled him even more.

_Why, out of the thousands of girls here, did she stay in his mind?_

Buzz blew it off for the moment, and tucked the ribbon into the pocket of his jeans. He unlocked the door to his room and walked in. He surprised to find that he was not alone.

He was much taller than him, but skinnier and less muscular. His hair and eyes were the same shade of brown, and he wore a plaid shirt and jeans. A pair of boots were tucked in the corner by his bed, and it looked as if he were almost completely unpacked.

"Hey. Name's Woody" A southern accent filled his words "Guess you're my roommate."

"Yeah. Hi." Buzz said, reaching his hand out "My name's Buzz. I transferred from another university."

Woody hesitated before shaking his hand. "I figured. I've had this room to myself for the last two years, so I was a bit surprised when I came in and found your stuff in it."

Buzz wasn't sure if he should be offended or not, but decided to respond confidently. "Yeah I got here earlier than I planned. But I just took the time to familiarize myself with the campus and stuff. That's probably why we haven't seen each other."

"Makes sense." Woody said, reaching for his pair of boots "Listen I'd invite you to dinner, but I've got plans with a friend that I haven't seen all summer-"

"It's fine." Buzz said. After the awkward introduction, he figured dinner might not be the best idea at the moment. "I actually have some plans too. But I'll see you when I get back."

Woody nodded his head, and left the dorm room. Buzz stood alone, wondering if his roommate was just bad with introductions, or had something against him.

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Jessie had to shove part of a cheese stick in her mouth to keep from bursting out laughing.

She and Dolly were at a pizza parlor about a mile away from campus. They had only intended for a night of pizza and getting to know each other, but they ended up befriending the waitress. Trixie, who smelled like fresh pizza crust, was now sitting next to them, on the verge of tears and talking about her boyfriend.

"You know? It just really upsets me that he would get all the way to level fifteen and not even share the secret code with me!" She said, dabbing the corners of her eyes with her apron. "I thought we were far enough into our relationship for that."

Jessie tried hide a snicker, and received a kick under the table from Dolly, who was trying to conceal a smile herself.

"You know, I think it's just a guy thing. He probably just wants to impress you with his skills and is afraid that if he shares them with you, that you won't think as highly of him." Dolly awkwardly patted her back and tried to comfort the twenty year old.

"Exactly!" Jessie chimed in "All he wants is a li'l lovin' from you. Make him feel macho!"

"You know, that actually makes sense." Trixie said, looking like something had connected in her head.

"And I bet if you congratulate him a lot on it, then he'll share the code with you in no time." Dolly replied.

Trixie smiled and her cheeks tinted pink. She stood up from the wooden table.

"Well thank you both for the kind advice. I've bothered you two enough. I'll just get you some refills like I was supposed to ten minutes ago." She scooped up the two glasses and walked away quickly.

After she had left, Jessie turned to Dolly, grinning.

"Now don't make fun of her." Dolly said, smoothing a purple streak in her hair. "We've all been there before with our boyfriends. Maybe not the same exact situation, but still."

"Ain't that the truth." Jessie bit off the rest of her cheese stick.

"Speaking of which, who did you meet today?" Dolly said, a knowing look in her eyes.

"What? I-I didn't meet anyone." Jessie said, tugging on her braid.

"Please." Dolly rolled her eyes, "You came back to the dorm all smiles and rainbows. Spill."

"It really was nothing." Jessie defended herself "This random guy crashed into me and made me drop all my stuff. He was a jerk"

"How romantic!" Dolly swooned. Jessie gave her a look, and they both laughed. Jessie had honestly forgotten about her encounter with Buzz until that moment. She wished she hadn't given him her ribbon. She probably wouldn't ever see him again anyway.

"So, what classes do you have tomorrow?" Jessie anxiously tried to change the subject. She listened as Dolly excitedly told her about the creative writing class she had in the morning. In turn Jessie told her about the music class she had applied for, despite her parent's wants for her to focus on academics. The more Dolly talked about her classes and her parents, the more it seemed that her parents supported her dreams.

Trixie returned with a glass of sweet tea and coke. She set them down in front of the girls and leaned over by Jessie.

"Don't look now, but that guy in the white shirt by the podium is totally checking you out." Trixie smiled, and left the table, fixing her blonde ponytail as she walked.

Jessie took a sip of her drink, and casually looked toward the podium where the host assigns tables. She choked on the tea and immediately turned her back to the guy, shielding her face.

She kept coughing until her eyes watered while Dolly let her eyes drift away. She smirked.

"So that's the jerk, huh?"

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

**Hmm. This was difficult to write, but I like where it's going. I've got plenty of ideas for this fic buzzing around in my head, so we'll see where they go. Check out my drabble series "When the Humans are Away" if you get bored waiting. Reviews are love, so send me some love this Valentine's Day :D**


	3. Cake

**I feel like the characters are out of character. Meh. I'm trying to work on that, sorry guys. And I promise things pick up the pace after this chapter. Introducing characters is boring in my opinion, because I have so many ideas for what's going to happen next! Haha but enjoy anyway! And thanks for all the reviews!**

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Buzz entered the restaurant, the aroma of pizza lingering in the air. He had come with two friends he'd met that day. One went by Rex, as a nickname for Richard. The other went by Hamm, but Buzz didn't know his real name.

He and Rex had met when Buzz walked into the dorm lounge, and found him playing a video game on his laptop. Blond, freckle-faced, and a bit of a worrier, Rex wasn't that social. But Buzz was, and had taken it upon himself to befriend him. Rex was much more talkative once they had gotten to know one another. He had even told him that he had had a fight with his girlfriend Trixie, and his hope that giving her the secret code for a video game would be a good enough apology.

Hamm looked like the stereotypical football player. Big and muscular, he was a wide receiver, and in his senior year. Because of his age, he gave off a know-it-all vibe, but remained a nice person. Rex was his younger cousin, and agreed to have dinner with him and Buzz since he hadn't seen Rex all summer.

"Table for three." Buzz said to the hostess, who started flipping through menus and scanning the crowded room for a table.

"This place is packed." Rex said, shaking his hair to the side.

"That's because it's cheap, and most college students don't make much over minimum wage." Hamm replied "So it's pretty much always crowded."

Buzz glanced back over the room, and caught sight of a familiar looking redhead. He stared for a moment, trying to figure out if it was Jessie. After a curly blond haired waitress gave her a refill, the girl turned and caught sight of Buzz. Her eyes went a bit wide, and she spun around quickly.

Buzz was puzzled, but at that moment the hostess started to lead them to a table near the girls.

"Did you see that redheaded chick? Man she totally freaked when she saw you!" Hamm said, slapping Buzz on the back. "You've really got a way with the ladies." Buzz pulled out his chair and plopped down.

"I wouldn't be too sure about that." Buzz mumbled to himself. It was quiet for a minute before Buzz realized that the other two had heard him. The looked at him, their eyes asking for information.

"Alright fine. Here's the story."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"Fine. I admit it. That's him." Jessie stated, trying to put together a sentence while stealing a glance at Buzz. The hostess led him and his friends to a table a few feet away from them. Great.

Dolly grinned mischievously. She titled her head to get a better look "He's cute. Not really my type, but your children would be beautiful."

"Dolly!" Jessie said, trying to sound annoyed but unable to hide a smile. Trixie returned with a steaming pepperoni pizza and set it down in front of them. She gasped when she saw the table full of boys behind Dolly and Jessie.

"That's him! That's my boyfriend! What do I do? I have to go take their order in a minute!" Trixie said, slightly panicked.

"Trixie. Calm down. You're a strong woman, and no guy can take that away from you." Jessie said, more to herself than to Trixie.

Trixie inhaled deeply, closing her green eyes. She was clearly trying to work up confidence. But her curly golden hair and friendly face gave off such a friendly vibe that it was hard to be intimidated by her. She walked back into the kitchen.

"That should be an interesting table to wait on." Dolly said, picking up a piece of pizza "Three hormonal college guys. One her boyfriend and one your future boyfriend."

"I met him an hour ago Dolly" Jessie said, as she bit into her pizza.

"But you didn't deny that he could be your future boyfriend!"

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

"She gave you her hair ribbon? Well of course that means she wants you to remember her!" Hamm exclaimed.

After Buzz had told the story Trixie had come and timidly asked for their drink order. Rex had greeted her with an apologetic hug and a whisper in her ear.

"I sent you the codes for the next five levels!" He grinned. "I just wanted to wait and give them all to you at once to surprise you."

Trixie smiled and kissed him on the cheek before heading back to the kitchen. Buzz and Hamm teased Rex for the next few minutes before the conversation was turned back to Buzz. And it stayed on Buzz.

"You should make a move!" Rex said, sipping his drink. "She's here now, so do something!"

Buzz sighed "I can't be that romantic in a crowded restaurant. Besides, they're about to leave."

Jessie and Dolly _were _about to leave. Trixie had just given them the check, and they were putting on their coats.

Buzz thought of something.

"Rex, can you get Trixie?"

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

"Well, I guess we should go then." Jessie said, a bit disappointed.

"He'll come around." Dolly said, pushing her chair in as she got up "He probably wasn't sure if he should talk to you tonight again or something."

Jessie smiled, and walked toward the door with Dolly. She had just opened it when she heard her name.

"Jessie, wait!" Trixie called, as she ran toward her. "You forgot your dessert."

"But I didn't order dessert." Jessie said, confused.

"Well this slice of cake has already been paid for, and I was told it's for you. So enjoy." Trixie handed her a Styrofoam to-go box.

The box had her yellow hair ribbon tied around it. Jessie grinned.

"Hang on Trixie." She said, as she grabbed a pen and a napkin from the podium. She scribbled a short message on it and gave it to the waitress. Jessie watched her walk off, and the she noticed Buzz looking at her. She smiled and winked before leaving the restaurant.

Buzz stared after her, dumbfounded, until Trixie handed him a folded napkin. He opened it to find loopy handwriting on it.

_Well aren't you the sweetest guy I've ever met. _

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

**Seriously guys, bear with me. The next chapter will be better, and up sooner. This was a bit of a filler chapter. Reviews are always welcome. :D thanks for reading!**


	4. Breakfast and Baby Grand

**Do they have bells in college? Like tardy bells and such? I don't think they do, but I'm not sure. I didn't include any just in case. **

**Aw well, enjoy!**

***In the section with the stars, please listen to clair de lune. That's what's being played :-)***

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The next morning, Dolly woke up late.

Jessie's science class had started at eight thirty, so she had been gone for a while. Dolly's first class started at nine thirty.

Which, according to her old clock, was in seven minutes.

She sprang from her bed after glancing at the time. In a mad rush she yanked on clothing and managed to run a brush through hair and make herself look presentable. She threw on a pair of converse and grabbed her books before sprinting out of her room and into the quad.

She collided with a tall, brown-haired boy.

"Ah! I mean, I-I'm sorry. I'm running late." Dolly said, trying to come up with an excuse "I have a class at nine thirty, and that's in like five minutes."

The guy looked at his watch "Well I think your clock might be off, because it's only nine."

Dolly turned red "Oh." Now she was even more embarrassed, "Well that's awkward."

To her relief, the stranger laughed. "It's only as awkward as you make it." He held out his hand "I'm Woody. Junior, buisness major, and an awkward stranger. "

She took his hand and shook it gently "I'm Dolly. Freshman, undecided major, and an equally awkward stranger."

"Well Dolly, where are you off to this morning? From the looks of it, we both have half an hour to kill" His smile made her insides go fuzzy "We can have another awkward conversation over breakfast if you'd like."

For a moment, Dolly considered not going. It was so unlike her to be spontaneous. That was more of a Jessie thing. But it was her first day of college, and she wasn't going to spend the morning alone in her science classroom.

"I'd be glad to!"

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Jessie sat in her statistics class, taking neat notes on the empirical rule. She'd already learned what the professor was talking about, but she took notes anyways. From the looks of the semester agenda she had given the class, Jessie was five weeks ahead of the rest of the class.

As the professor went off on an unrelated side story, Jessie glanced around the classroom at the other students. Most were sophomores or juniors, with the occasional freshman. Jessie had to keep remembering that she had entered college as a sophomore because of her so-called "outstanding academic achievements." But considering the size of the high school she had come from, it wasn't difficult for her to be in the top ten in her senior class.

More than anything, she wanted to see what Buzz was up to since their encounter at the pizza parlor last night. The whole night had made her feel warm and tingly all the way down to her toes. Plus she'd gotten her favorite ribbon back, which was also a plus.

Class was dismissed, and Jessie glanced at the digital clock over the door. It was three, and she didn't have any more classes that day. She loved college.

"Hi!" A sweet, motherly voice greeted Jessie as she was about to leave the classroom. A curvy, tan-skinned girl with bright red lipstick held out her hand "I'm Betty. What's your name?"

"Howdy Betty" Jessie said, shaking the girls hand "I'm Jessie. It's my first year here."

"Well isn't that sweet." Betty said "I've been studying here a while, and I love it. Even met my husband here."

"Your husband?" Jessie questioned.

"Oh yes! Bart is such a sweetheart." Betty's eyes drifted off, "We got married last year, because we just couldn't wait until we graduated. There are actually quite a bit of students who get married before graduation, believe it or not."

"Huh. Fancy that." Jessie said. "Well congratulations to the both of you then."

"Aw thank you doll." Betty said "How 'bout you? Do you have yourself a special someone?"

"Uh, well…I, uh, no." Jessie stammered "Not exactly."

"Well there isn't any harm in that." Betty replied "Gives you more free time anyways.

"I've got to run, but there's a party being held this Friday in one of the big suite apartments by the lake. You should come! This place is full of great people, you gotta get out and meet them!"

Jessie smiled "That sounds like fun! Maybe I'll bring some friends and check it out."

"Hope to see you there!" Betty said, as she walked away toward the history and English building.

Jessie waved after her.

_Friday. That's two days away. But I have all that homework, and a math quiz, and… _

She glanced around the grassy courtyard. It was full of students eating, talking, and taking pictures. It was definitely too early for dinner, and Jessie didn't want to hang out alone in her dorm Confused for a moment, Jessie made a spur of the moment decision and headed toward the campus auditorium.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"He bought you breakfast! Oh girl he was so hitting on you!" Trixie squealed, bouncing in her chair with excitement.

She and Dolly somehow ended up with the same American history class, and Dolly had just filled her in with the morning's events. Dolly had tried to keep it cool, but it was obvious that she was very excited about meeting Woody. They were supposed to be finding a topic for their big semester project, but it was hard for Dolly to keep that news to herself.

"Naw. He was probably just being nice." Dolly said. Trixie's bright blue eyes stared at Dolly. "You really think he was hitting on me?"

"Well of course!" Trixie said "Why can't you believe it yourself?"

"Because I'm not exactly what most guys are looking for." Dolly stated

"That is a load of crap." Trixie retaliated. "Hey, you. You heard the story, what do you think?"

"Trixie…" Dolly muttered

A quiet, blond haired boy sat next to the girls. He had been assigned in the group for the project with them, but hadn't spoken much. He had his arms crossed, but a friendly expression on his face.

"If I give you guys my opinion will you finally help me pick a topic for this project?" He asked.

"Oh I'm sorry!" Dolly said "I just got sidetracked and-"

"Yes" Trixie answered the boy.

"Well did he ask you to get breakfast with him again?"

"Um, yeah. Tomorrow." Dolly admitted.

"He was definitely hitting on you." The boy said, pulling a pen out of his jeans pocket. "Guys don't waste their money on random girls when they could waste it on themselves."

Trixie laughed "Told you!"

Dolly tried to hide her smile, but was unsuccessful. "Let's just pick a project topic." She scanned the list of approved topics that the professor had given them. "Which one do you think looks the least boring?"

"How industrialization of America affected agriculture. Definitely better than explaining the gruesome punishments for runaway slaves or analyzing the constitution."

"Sounds like a party." Dolly joked "Good choice…uh,"

"Buttercup"

"Butter-what?" Dolly stopped midway through his name.

"Don't ask." Buttercup said, writing the topic of their project on a clean sheet of paper "It's a long story."

"Aw I think it's cute!" Trixie said.

Buttercup groaned slightly under his breath.

"Thanks Trixie." He mumbled. Dolly laughed.

*0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o*

Jessie entered the empty auditorium. It was quite an impressive size, much bigger than the one in her home town. There were rows and rows of dark red seats that faced a massive stage. The floor of the stage was made of wood, but the half wall that heightened the stage was made of brick. A baby grand piano sat in the corner of the stage.

The whole thing was a bit intimidating. Jessie thought that maybe she should leave so she wouldn't get caught. But she knew that the auditorium was always open during the day for students to enter. Most of them were probably out eating or something.

Jessie walked down the sloped stairs past aisles of seats. She stopped at the stage, which was a bit shorter than she was. She walked to the edge and climbed the fives stairs up to the stage.

The piano was sleek, black and shiny. It was much more impressive than the minute keyboard she had back in her dorm. She set her bag down and ran her fingers over smooth surface.

"Wow."

Slowly, she let her fingers glide over and press the cool keys. The sound rang out clearly and echoed throughout the theatre. She smiled and sat down. Slowly, she began to play.

It had been so long since she had played on a real piano. Her sad excuse for a keyboard did no justice to this instrument. The music was calming, and sweet. The song was famous, but when she played it, there was a certain uniqueness to it.

As the song started out, she let the calmness take over her. Her muscles relaxed. Playing came so naturally to her, and her emotions seemed to speak through the music.

She closed her eyes. Knowing the song by heart was always a benefit.

As the tempo picked up so did her emotions. Her parents almost never let her play at home; they said it would distract her from her studies. And god forbid her school work would be harmed, because that's all that matters.

She wasn't herself. She was what they had wanted her to turn out to be. A girl with the brightest academic future, anyone would be jealous. They wanted her to graduate college quickly, major in math, or science, or something, and become a civil engineer. A civil engineer!

Her fingers flew across the board as she poured out her stress and anger. It was all too much; trying to be herself as well as what everyone else wanted her to be. She couldn't do it. The keys expressed her bitter confusion as she plunked out quick notes.

The song slowed. And she was brought back to reality, in an auditorium, alone. Always so alone.

Then the floor creaked. Jessie jumped up.

"Hello?" She called. There was no reply.

"Hello?"

Then everything went pitch black.

**o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

**Oh look at that. A cliffhanger. Fancy that.**

**I wanted to make this chapter longer, I hope I succeeded. In case you couldn't tell, Betty=Mrs potato and Bart=Mr potato. **

**I hope you all liked this chapter, it was a bit difficult to write but I'm satisfied with it. I'll be out of town for a few days so I wanted to get this up for y'all. Please review, reviews make me happy. And when I'm happy, I'll send y'all some virtual brownies. :D**


	5. Constellations

**Virtual brownies for all you lovely reviewers! [#] [#] [#] [#] [#] **

**Thanks to ****loveconquers1**** TSWritersRUs, liloapril,****The139Blossom, Reeves3, and Cerulean Pen for the reviews. I always ask for reviews but never thank y'all. So thanks a bunch! And enjoy!**

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Jessie stumbled forward and slammed her hands down on the piano for support. The keys made a unexpected thundering tune, and Jessie, startled, leaped back. It was pitch black, and she had no idea where she was going, but ran for the stairs. She collided with the piano bench and tripped, falling onto the stage's wooden floor, yelping as she made contact.

"Miss? Miss, are you okay?"

Loud footsteps ran toward her, and a strong arm lifted her up into a sitting position.

"I'm so sorry, I thought the theatre was empty!"

She knew that voice, it was too familiar.

"Buzz? Is that you?" She squinted through the darkness, trying to make out his features.

Buzz blinked, trying to identify the young woman in front of him. "Wait, is that you, Jessie?" He wasn't sure if he should be glad to see her, or scared to death.

"Hey." She chuckled, her eyes finally adjusting in the dim light. It didn't even seem that dark anymore. She could make out his cerulean eyes and shaggy hair, his muscular arms and purple t-shirt, as well as a pair of earphones hanging around his neck.

"Well hey there." He said back, a faint smile on his face. "Fancy seeing you here. Most people don't hang out in empty buildings. You know, a lot of kids are social." He hoped his joke wasn't taken the wrong way.

Jessie debated whether to tell him about the piano.

_Not yet._

She smiled "Well I actually hate being social. I'm one of those people who hang out in dark alleys waiting to be mugged or raped. It's fun."

Buzz laughed. "I know what you mean! It's just the adrenaline rush that comes with it, nothing else is like it."

Jessie giggled. "I like your style, partner. My respect for you just went way up."

"Glad to hear it." Buzz replied, silently rejoicing inside. "So, um, are you okay? You fell pretty hard."

Jessie moved her feet and arms. Nothing was broken. "Well yeah, because some idiot turned the lights off." She joked "Why exactly did you do that? Didn't you hear me in here?"

"Earphones" He pointed to the cords around his neck. "And I came in here because of the stars."

"The stars? Last time I checked, stars were located outside."

"Check again." He motioned to the ceiling with his arm, and Jessie glanced up.

All over the ceiling of the auditorium, constellations had been painted as if it were the nighttime sky. It was breathtaking, a piece of art, but scientifically and mathematically accurate. They glowed in the dark, just like real stars.

Jessie breathed in sharply. How had she not noticed it earlier?

"Beautiful isn't it?" He said "The space and astronomy classes did it over the course of three years. I've wanted to see it with the lights off for a while."

"It's amazing." Jessie replied. "Is that the big dipper?" She pointed toward a jumble of stars.

"Yeah. And there's the Gemini twins… and Orion's belt…"

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"Well fancy that Woody. It's the first day of school and you've already got yourself a special someone." The two twenty-one year olds walked past the flagpole in the late afternoon sun.

"Slink, we had breakfast, not a romantic stroll in the park." Woody rolled his eyes but laughed along with his best friend. They had met in middle school, and stuck together through thick and thin, and magically winding up at the same college. They would have been roommates if Slink had turned in his paperwork on time. But their rooms were luckily right next door, and they were able to continue their strong friendship throughout the two years spent in them.

"But you thought she was pretty. Didn't you?" Slink asked.

"Well yeah."

"It's obvious something's different about this one."

"What are you implying?" Woody asked "I've only dated three girls, I ain't no cowboy pimp."

"No Woody, you're not. What I meant was that before when you had yourself a girl, you never talked about her. And all I heard this afternoon is Dolly this, Dolly that."

Woody turned slightly pink "Sorry man. Guess I over did it."

"Aw don't worry about it." Slink said, pushing open the door to the student lounge. "As long as you don't start wearing blush and curling your eyelashes, you can still be my best friend."

Woody laughed. "You don't have to worry about that, partner."

They entered the air-conditioned lounge which had several other students in it. A boy in the corner was reading a script with a British accent, and a blond haired cheerleader with legwarmers was sitting in her boyfriend's lap, giggling. Two freshmen, a boy and a girl, sat huddled around a laptop.

"Go left! No the other left! Wait!" Confused shouts came from their direction. Woody glanced over and saw that they were playing some time of computer game. The girl clicked the space bar, and advanced to the next level.

"Ah I made it!" She squealed, hugging her boyfriend, who blushed slightly. "I couldn't have done it without the secret code you gave me."

"Aw look at Rex getting all mushy with Trixie." Woody said, plopping onto a couch "We should tease him about it in biology tomorrow."

"Way to pick on the freshman, we're not even seniors yet!" Slink said, squishing a pillow.

"Eh, true." Woody replied "You going to Hamm's party Friday night?"

"Sure am." Slink said "Speaking of Hamm, I saw him talking to a new guy today. You know, the one that transferred?"

"Yeah, he infiltrated my man cave." Woody replied.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"He's my new roommate. Slink, he thinks he's all that. He went around meeting professors yesterday because he got here early. Sucking up probably."

"He seemed nice to me. He gave me a tater tot, so I like him. Said he might go to the party Friday. You should ask Dolly to go with you.""

Woody glanced out the window. Dolly, with her purple streaks happened to be passing them right now. She was smiling, like she had just had the best day ever.

"Maybe." Woody said, staring after her.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"So you just switched colleges just like that?" Jessie asked.

"Well, it wasn't that easy. It took a while to straighten every thing out, but I'm glad that I came here."

They were lying on their backs on the floor the stage. They hadn't moved for two hours. Just laying there, talking about schoolwork, friends, and stars was all very calming to Jessie. She'd forgotten what a meaningful conversation felt like.

She sat up, leaned back on her hands, and looked at him "Well I'm glad you came here too Buzz." She said softly. He looked up at her, and in the fake starlight he looked breath taking.

_Get ahold of yourself Jessie._ She thought to herself.

"Well, I mean I'm glad you're here because otherwise I wouldn't have learned so much about the stars." She stumbled, looking away from him. She wasn't going to give away all her emotions right away.

"Oh, yeah." Buzz replied, a bit disappointed "Well I really like space. Astronomy is one of my favorite things. That's part of the reason that I came here, because they offer a major in astronomy."

"Well why didn't you come here originally? You wasted your first two years studying at law school." She cocked her head to the side.

"Ah, well, it's complicated." Buzz said, rolling over onto his stomach and propping himself up on his elbows.

"I'm sure I can understand it." She replied. Buzz inhaled.

"My parents. They wanted me to become a lawyer, earn money and be successful. I really didn't have a choice. They didn't care about what I dreamed to do. 'Dreams are meant for sleeping' is what my dad used to say. They said the only school they would pay for was a law school, so I went.

"But I hadn't realized how much money I had saved up over the years. And I hated law school. _Hated _it. Wanted to get out as fast as I could. And when I found out that I could transfer, everything fell into place for me. Of course, that didn't please my parents, but there wasn't much they could do now that I'm an adult. The rest is history."

Jessie was quiet for a minute. "What did you dream to do?"

"Work for NASA. I didn't care if I was a janitor cleaning up puke in the anti-gravity chamber, I knew I wanted to be there. Space fascinates me, because it's so complex, mysterious" He glanced up at Jessie, her green eyes glowing. "Kind of like you."

Jessie blinked. She didn't know what to say for a moment. "My parents want me to be a civil engineer. I hate math."

Buzz paused, a bit confused that she hadn't responded like he thought she would. "Then why are you doing what they want you to?"

"Because I don't have a choice. I, I have to make them proud."

"You shouldn't have to work for their love." He said.

He'd pegged her problem head on. Not that she would ever admit it.

"No, it's not like that." She said, furrowing her brows. "I just…want to make them happy."

"Well, if that's what you want to do, then by all means go ahead." Buzz said smiling.

_Except that it's _not _what I want to do…_ Jessie thought to herself.

Buzz stood up and offered her his hand. "Can I escort you back to your dorm?"

She took his hand and he lifted her to her feet. She smiled mischievously.

"You can escort me to dinner, if you'd like."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Later that night, Dolly lay awake in bed. Jessie was sound asleep, after coming back and telling her all about dinner with Buzz. Apparently he had asked her to go to a party on Friday like she had been hoping. Dolly shared in her excitement and felt happy for her friend. She told her about Woody, and Jessie had stated that they would probably have beautiful children together, even though she had never met him.

Now she was left with her thoughts as her roommate snored softly. It was the first day of school, and they both had met someone. What were the odds?

She rolled over and found herself facing her broken alarm clock. It's red numbers stared back at her as she counted the hours until nine o' clock.

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**I'm trying to make my chapters longer. It's hard. I hope y'all enjoyed, and I'll update soon :-) Check out my other stories if you feel like it!**


	6. New Toy

**I tried uploading this for days, but got an error message. It finally worked! **

**Read, review, enjoy. Notes at the bottom. :-)**

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Dolly stared at herself in the mirror, happy that her overdone spray tan had finally faded to a normally tan skin tone. The orange paired with her purple streaked hair had been a bit much. She picked up a strand and wondered if she should bother straightening it like she had all week. The clock said five to nine. She ran her fingers through the wavy locks and grabbed her bag to leave. The bedroom window was slightly open, but Dolly figured the cool breeze wouldn't hurt.

The halls were quiet and empty. Sunlight was streaming through the windows at both ends of the hallway, bathing it in a soft light. Dolly's feet padded lightly against the stairs as she headed for the exit.

She shut the door to her dorm building and came face to face with chocolate brown eyes. A shriek escaped her mouth and she jumped back.

"You scared me half to death!" Dolly breathed clutching her heart. Woody laughed, and stood up from his semi-kneeling position that kept him at her height.

"Good morning." He said smiling. "Your hair looks nice." She didn't respond, and remained motionless. His smile disappeared.

"Earth to Dolly." Woody waved a hand in front of her face and she blinked, staring at him with a strange expression. He frowned worriedly.

"Dolly? Was that too creepy? I'm sorry I really didn't mean to scare you I just-"

She popped onto her tiptoes and wrapped her arms around his neck, pecking him on the cheek to shut him up. His face turned red and she giggled.

"It wasn't creepy." She responded with a smirked. "I was just thinking of how I'm going to get you back."

"Ah, uh, um," He stuttered and Dolly giggled again, stepping down from the tips of her feet and away from his face.

"Breakfast, cowboy?"

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Jessie lay in bed, semi-conscious. Dolly always tried to get ready without waking her, but Jessie was a light sleeper. She didn't mind too much, she would have woken up on her own soon anyway.

The clock said nine fifteen, and the horse calendar hanging on the wall said it was Friday. Jessie's earliest class of Friday wasn't until ten thirty. She groaned slightly and rolled over onto her side, trying to fall back asleep. But her mind was stuffed with thoughts.

Buzz had been in her dreams that night. She didn't know if it was because he had taken her to dinner or some deep emotional reason a psychology major wouldn't understand. Either way, it bothered her, mostly because it didn't make any sense.

She was riding on a horse and he was riding on a fat yellow unicorn. And that was all she could remember.

_Is there such thing as a dream dictionary?_

She pulled herself out of bed and towards her laptop. It hummed slightly as the screen powered up, and Jessie pulled on a red robe. She sat down and went straight to google, the clicking of the keys mixing with the chirping of the birds outside.

She clicked on the first link, and the page loaded with a dreamy looking title. She clicked on the letter U.

Unfortunate, Unhappy, unibrow….unicorn.

_To see a unicorn in your dream, symbolizes high ideals, hope and insight in a current situation. It also symbolizes power, gentleness, and purity. Alternatively, it may represent your one-sided views. _

"What?" Jessie cocked her head to the side. She clicked on another link and scrolled down to unicorn again.

_A unicorn in a dream symbolizes self-hatred as well as a hatred of others. It can also represent a fear of animals, chocolate, and happiness. _

Jessie closed her laptop. This was hopeless.

At that moment a pebble flew through the open window and landed on her pillow. Jessie bit her lip and stood up slowly. A slightly larger rock came flying through and she jumped out of its path with a yelp. It landed in the trashcan with a slight clunk. Jessie ran to the window and pushed it higher open, staring down at the grinning face.

"Sweet mother of Abraham Lincoln Buzz! You almost hit me!" She called to him quietly. He smirked up at her.

"Sweet mother of Abraham Lin-"

"Waddaya want crazy pants?" She asked, leaning against the edge of the window. "I'm not really in my best attire at the moment."

"Sorry about that." He replied "I was wondering if you wanted to take a romantic stroll before I have to go to class." He ran a hand through his shaggy brown hair and squinted in the sunlight.

"A 'romantic stroll'? Throwing pebbles at my window? You're not trying to make me your afternoon delight are you?"

"Jess, it's nine fifteen."

"So?" She disappeared from the window.

He groaned, but a smile graced his lips. "No, I am not trying to make you my afternoon delight."

Her head peered around the edge "Well I'm not going to be your after dinner desert eith-"

"Jessie!"

"Fine!" She buttoned the last button on her shirt and stepped into full view. "I'll be down in a second."

Buzz grinned as she shut the window, her tiptoe stance showing the thinness of her figure. Of course he didn't like Jessie only for her appearance; it was just an added benefit, and he wasn't about to complain. She came down a few minutes later running her hands through her red hair and smiling.

"But really, it would have been better if you had climbed up a ladder…"

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Woody walked into the science building after having breakfast with Dolly again. The warm, August air rushed into the air-conditioned hall when he opened the door. His boots were noisy against the tiled floor of the corridor, which was empty because he was a few minutes early.

He'd known the professor personally for a long time, and because of that, the class was one of his favorites. He was actually an old friend of Woody's family. After being gone all summer Woody was looking forward to seeing his favorite teacher again.

He opened the door to the familiar classroom, and stopped dead in his tracks when he saw someone sitting in his seat. Someone familiar.

"Woody! It's good to see you again, boy!" Professor Davis walked over and patted him on the back. "I hope your summer was a balance of fun and education. Have you met Buzz yet? He's new to the school, you two should get along great!"

Woody's eyes narrowed at his roommate, who was sitting in his desk right next to him. Buzz looked up, with a straight but stern face.

"Yeah, we've met." Woody replied. Buzz looked uncomfortable.

"We're actually roommates Professor." Buzz explained. "So we've had the pleasure of already getting acquainted with one another."

"Well that's great. Now you both have someone to turn to if you need help on assignments!" The professor smiled widely, oblivious to the tense feelings between the two students. "Buzz was just telling me about his academic achievements when you walked in."

"Well I wouldn't call them achievements." Buzz said, coming off as self absorbed. Woody gripped the edge of a desk in annoyance.

"Having a 4.0 all through high school and getting into Harvard law school are definitely achievements Mr. Lightyear!" Professor Davis smiled, "Wouldn't you say so Woody?"

Woody breathed deeply. "Yeah. Impressive." Professor Davis walked back to his desk and shuffled papers around, not noticing Buzz and Woody avoiding eye contact.

"I've got to go grab something from Professor Unkrich's room. Be right back boys." Professor Davis hurried out of the room. The hallway was starting to fill with other students. Woody turned to Buzz.

"Alright Mr. Lightbeer, I've been nice. But you didn't really need to come in here and brag about yourself and suck up to the professor." Woody said sternly. Buzz frowned.

"I was not 'sucking up'. Professor Davis merely asked about my academic background and I answered his questions. I can't help if he's taken a liking to me."

"Woah woah woah." Woody waved his hands in the air as he spoke. "Taken a liking to you? You've been here a week! I've known him for years."

"True, but-" Buzz was cut off by another voice shouting his name.

"Hey Buzz! Didn't know you had this class too!" Bart's voice carried into the classroom as he walked in. "Oh hey Woody."

Slink walked in behind Bart, his big eyes looking excited. "Mornin' Woody." He caught glance of Buzz behind his best friend.

"Heya Buzz! Thanks for the tater tot the other day, I was really wanting one." Buzz laughed.

"No problem Slinky!" He said "I had more than I knew what to do with."

Professor Davis walked back into the classroom, and started introducing Buzz to those who didn't know him. Other students started to walk into the classroom, slowly joining the group around Buzz. Slinky and Woody stood off to the side.

"He sure is popular ain't he?" Slink said. Woody groaned.

"He's just a new toy for everyone to play with, that's all."

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

**Li'l bit off Woody/Dolly and Buzz/Jessie, along with some drama for fun. :D**

**So I guess I took a two week vacation from this story on accident. The past two weeks have just been absolutely crazy and stressful, so I didn't have time to do this. But now it's done, and I've even written out the next chapter so I can get it up in a timely manner. **

**I know where I'm going with this now, so it should get good within the next few chapters. Hope you enjoyed! Leave a review if you have time. :-) **


	7. Party

**Thanks to all those who reviewed. I would name y'all but for some reason I can't get to my reviews…one of the many malfunctions I've been experiencing. Oh well. Read, review, enjoy!**

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Woody walked dejectedly into the dining hall with the late afternoon sun beating down on his back. He felt like he had been annoyed all day, and it really took the energy out of him.

Woody thought that he was a decent person, it was just that Buzz had randomly shown up and pushed him to the edge, and now others probably viewed him as a senseless jerk. The incident with Buzz and Professor Davis had put him in a sour mood, and Woody was in no mood to see his roommate. Nor was he looking forward to the mass amounts of homework that awaited him back in his room. So to procrastinate, he decided to meet up with Rex and Hamm for dinner.

He pushed open the door and glanced around the crowded café. Students, teachers and couples were eating, talking, and scrambling to finish homework. Woody heard a slightly high male voice call him.

"Hey Woody! Over here!" Rex's green eyes caught Woody's and he waved him over to the table with his left arm. His right was draped over Trixie's shoulders, who had decided to join her boyfriend for dinner. A plate of leafy lettuce was in front of her and Rex had a hamburger and fried chicken. Hamm was eating some unidentifiable kind of meat slopped into a bun.

Woody walked over to his friends without getting food. The day seemed to have suppressed his appetite. "Hey guys, and girl." He nodded in Trixie's direction with a slight smile.

"Sorry if I surprised you Woody." Trixie said "I just haven't seen Rex all day, and I missed him." She grinned in his direction. "And I just tagged along for dinner."

"It's fine Trixie. I don't mind. As long as you and the carnivore don't start making out in front of us." Woody chuckled, as Rex turned pink, and shuffled his meat around his plate.

"Yeah I really don't feel like seeing all this food again after I eat it, so don't make me sick with your mushy love stuff." Hamm joked as he took another big bite out of his meal.

"Why all the food Hamm? Getting ready to hibernate for winter?" Woody asked.

"Ha ha." Hamm said sarcastically, taking a sip of his soda. "I have to bulk up for the football game. Been eating like this all summer so I can get more muscular. It's been proven that players who have a certain amount of calories don't get hurt as often and score more points on the field."

Trixie grimaced as Hamm kept eating. "I never understood why guys eat so much meat. Especially you Rex." She poked his food with her fork. "Doesn't it make you feel bad that you're eating animals?"

"I never understood how you can be a vegetarian. Meat is amazing!" Rex said back to her.

As the coupled lightly argued about their eating habits, Woody turned to Hamm. "Did you hear about the party that's going on tonight?

"Of course." Hamm replied in between bites "Over in one of the suites by the lake. Shouldn't get too crazy since it's on campus."

"Yes but since it's on the very edge of campus people might think they can do anything they want." Woody replied "It's not like they have police patrolling all the way down there."

"True. Either way, it sounds like fun. You going to it?"

"I don't know Hamm. I'm not much of a party person, and I don't really know who is going." Woody said.

"Man, I'm going to give you an awesome piece of Hamm advice." Hamm leaned back in his chair, and put his hands behind his head, closing his eyes to relax. "It's very deep, and should be taken seriously for it to work."

"Gee Hamm I don't know if I can handle something that important."

Hamm opened one eye "Do you want to hear it or not?"

Woody took a potato chip from Hamm's plate "Sure." He popped the crunchy chip in his mouth, waiting to hear words of wisdom. Hamm took a long pause before replying.

"Chill out."

Woody stopped chewing "That's your awesome and deep piece of Hamm advice?"

"Pretty much." Hamm replied

"I could have bought a box of popsicles and read the box if I wanted to know that. And then I would have a popsicle, which is even better."

Hamm groaned and sat up "Well if you do that, call me because now I want a popsicle. But really man, you just need to let loose and have some fun. Between your roommate and schoolwork, you've been a humongous ball of stress. And it's only the first week of the semester! Come to the party tonight."

Woody rolled his eyes. "Maybe." He turned his other two friends who had finally concluded that eating both meat and vegetables was okay. "Are you two going?"

"Depends if we get to the fifty fifth level of the new game we bought Wednesday!" Trixie squealed excitedly.

"Yeah if we finish early, we might stop by. But we can't waste our weekend partying, there are aliens to defeat!" Rex said triumphantly.

Woody laughed. It felt good to laugh. "Sounds like a good plan."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Buzz was in his empty dorm, alone on a Friday night. How annoying. He lay on the bed staring up at the ceiling, at the map of the stars that was pinned to it.

He knew that Woody was avoiding him. He probably hadn't come back to the dorm the rest of the day. But really, he was blowing things out of proportion. It wasn't Buzz's fault if people naturally gravitated toward him. He was a charismatic guy! But why was he alone on a Friday night?

He wanted to see Jessie again, but he was afraid of moving too fast. After all, they had only met a few days ago, and he had already thrown rocks at her window. Then again, she hadn't objected. The whole thing confused him.

He sat up, and rubbed his head. The sun hadn't set yet, and he knew the weather was cool. He went to the closet and dug around the back until he found an old, tattered soccer ball. He slipped on his tennis shoes and headed outside into the cool air.

He couldn't remember the last time he had actually used it. His parents had always thought grades were more important than sports, and while Buzz's passion would always be astronomy, he couldn't help but love the game. He kicked the ball into the air, bouncing it on his knees, and eventually started jogging and kicking it to himself.

"Need an opponent?"

Buzz dropped the ball and turned to see a blond haired boy that he recognized from somewhere with his hands in his pockets.

"Hey, you're Buttercup right?" Buzz asked remembering meeting him through someone else at some point during the week.

"Sure am." He kicked the ball into the air and headed it. Like Buzz, he was muscular and athletic, but Buttercup was on the tall side, and had a mysterious personality. His hair fell into his eyes.

"Not bad." Buzz said, after the ball was kicked back over to him. "Let's play."

The two of them ran around the quad, stealing the black and white ball from one another. Their feet were quick, as well as their minds. Buttercup made some impressive steals, and Buzz was easily able to run without getting tired. He wasn't exactly sure who was winning, but kept playing; the adrenaline was too addictive. They collapsed forty five minutes later, sweaty and breathing heavily as the sun was setting.

"D'you play in high school?" Buttercup asked, staring up into the pinky orange sky as his chest heaved up and down. "Cause you're pretty good."

"Played freshman year. Then my parents made me quit, because it was too 'distracting.'" Buzz said, using air quotes.

"Too bad, you probably could have gotten tons of scholarship offers if you'd played longer." Buttercup replied.

"What about you? Did you play?"

Buttercup chuckled "You bet. Varsity each year, eventually captain. That is, until I busted up my leg doin' something stupid. Can't play on a team now because it is too much of a risk with all the people around me."

Buzz looked up curiously "Doing something stupid? Like what?"

"Like drinking." Buttercup said in a grave tone, not looking at Buzz. "Don't do it man, it'll make you feel invincible, like you can do anything. And no one's invincible, no matter how much you want to be."

Buzz pondered the thought for a minute in silence. His train of thought was broken when his opponent stood up from the grass. He stood up with him, the ball tucked under his arm.

"Good game, though I'm not sure who won." He stuck out his hand and Buttercup shook it firmly.

"I did. By three. But keep practicing man, you're good." The blonde boy smiled slightly before walking away.

Buzz started walking back to his dorm, sweat drenching his body. He glanced behind him. There was no one around, so he pulled off his shirt and headed for the bathroom to shower.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Woody was standing outside of the suite by the lake alone. He hated going to parties alone, it made him feel anti-social. The music was loud enough to be heard from where he was standing, a deep bass beat thumping through the walls.

He walked down to the lake, staring out onto the water. It was dark, with the moon reflecting in the small ripples. A small frog jumped in, sending waves through the water and morphing the image of the moon.

He felt like something was missing, and an idea struck him at that moment. He pulled out his cell phone and dialed a relatively new number.

A familiar voice picked up. "Hello?" Woody smiled just hearing her voice.

"Dolly? You have plans for tonight?"

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Buzz rubbed a towel through his hair to dry it, and pulled on a pair of jean shorts. His chest remained bare as he searched through his drawers for a clean shirt. He really needed to do some laundry, but first he would have to find someone to teach him how to do laundry.

There was a knock at the door. Buzz assumed that it was probably the Dorm Advisor or someone from down the hall to remind him to turn on the fan in the shower rooms. He threw the towel on his bed and opened the door.

Jessie stood in front of him, her red hair out of its usual braid, flowing down past her shoulders. When she saw Buzz without a shirt she blinked and her face turned red.

"Oh! I'm sorry I didn't mean t-"

"It's, um, fine Jessie." Buzz struggled to reassure her. The top that she was wearing was formfitting, and showed a bit more cleavage than Buzz expected she would have let herself show. He kept his eyes locked on hers to avoid glancing down. "Did you need something."

"Oh. Okay." Jessie said, tugging on a lock of hair. She hated the awkwardness lingering in the air. "Um, well it's just that…there's this thing tonight, a party…and I was ?" Her words ran together at the end as she attempted to finally get her question out. Buzz blinked twice.

"Ah, um, I, uh" Buzz stuttered as he tried to compose a reply. Here he was, standing without a shirt on, next to a gorgeous girl, and not being able to form a sentence. Charming.

"You don't have to go, I was just wondering." Jessie said, taking his stuttering as a no. "I guess I will just be on my way then…"

"No!" Buzz's sudden outburst caused Jessie to jump a little. He blushed. "Um, I mean I would love to go with you. Just give me a few minutes to get a shirt. You probably don't want to walk around with some crazy shirtless guy."

Jessie chuckled "Probably not. Don't want to ruin my precious reputation." He smiled back at her.

"I'll be out in a minute, wanna wait in the dorm lounge?" She nodded and he closed the door quietly. She pressed her back against the wall, and tried to cool her burning face.

_Sweet mother of Abraham Lincoln…_

Buzz was attractive. Quite attractive.

Jessie composed herself and walked down to the lounge to wait. She ran her fingers through her hair and tried to smooth her clothing. The shirt she was wearing was lower cut than she was used to, but it wasn't like her parents were there to say no. She smiled at the thought of rebellion.

Buzz joined her a few moments later, a white polo on. Jessie secretly wished that he hadn't put it on.

"So where exactly are we going?" He asked, carefully wrapping an arm around her waist. She didn't object.

"This party at a suite by the lake. I heard it's going to be pretty fun."

"Well it's not going to be fun until we get there." Buzz said. Jessie laughed.

"You are so corny Buzz." She wrapped her arm around his waist, and they walked outside into the night.

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**Next chapter is interesting, I'm hoping y'all will like it. :-) **

**Been struggling with an error message when trying to update stories. Thanks to ****Fanficaddict02 for helping me out with it. It's quite annoying, but I'm getting through it with many others.**

**Please review if you have time, they make me really happy. Thanks!**


	8. Shattered Glass

**Sorry once again for being MIA lately, life gets busy. Read, Review, Enjoy :-)**

**By the way, the legal drinking age in the U.S. is 21, and Buzz is 21 in this fic. Just saying.**

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There was a soft knock at the door. Dolly stood up from her bed and smoothed her dress. Her hair was wavy again, because she knew he liked it that way.

Partying was not exactly what she had had in mind for that night. She had turned down Jessie's invitation, who had hopefully convinced Buzz to go with her. But when Woody called her, she could tell he didn't want to be alone. And she could hardly call more time with him a bad thing.

She opened the door and looked up to Woody's smiling face. His cowboy hat matched his eyes.

"Howdy little lady." He tipped his hat. "Ready to head out?"

"Um, sure. But can I ask you something?" Dolly bit her lip nervously. Woody looked at her curiously.

"Of course Doll. What's up?" His eyebrows furrowed into a worried expression.

"This party isn't going to get too out of hand is it?" She asked, wringing her hands together. She hoped he wouldn't think she was being childish. "I don't want to go if it's going to be crazy."

Woody pondered how to respond to the question. He worded his thoughts carefully.

"Dolly I'll make sure that things do not get too wild. I'm not really one for crazy parties either. But I know most of the people that will be there, and they're good kids. If you feel uncomfortable about anything, then we will leave right away."

Dolly exhaled with relief. "Okay. Let's go."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

The party was in full swing by the time Buzz and Jessie arrived. They stepped off the staircase and a loud, base influenced song pulsed through the walls. The door was slightly cracked, and Buzz held it open for Jessie who smiled and walked into the room.

The first thing she noticed was the cooler with beer shoved in the corner. Her heart sped up a bit, because she knew that alcohol wasn't allowed in the suites. She relaxed a bit when she saw a tall, blonde boy throw a blanket over the cooler. At least she wasn't the only one who was worried.

Buzz hadn't seen the beer; he was shutting the door behind Jessie. All over the suite there were couples and friends huddled together. The music came from another room in the suite, and Jessie assumed that a small dance group had formed.

"Well, here we are." Buzz said, circling his arm around her waist again. He caught sight of familiar faces, and guided himself and Jessie toward his friends on the couch.

"Jessie, this is Hamm and Slinky." He gestured to his friends, who nodded to the girl. Jessie chuckled.

"More nicknames? I wonder if I'll ever learn anyone's real name." She said. Slink smiled.

"My real name is Slevin. No one could pronounce it correctly, so I go by my little brother's nickname for me." Slinky smiled.

Hamm ruffled his hair. "Eh, I just go by Hamm because that's what people call me."

Jessie nodded. The four of them proceeded to talk about their first week of college. Hamm was talking about the homecoming game coming up in two months. He said it was the most important game since the school wasn't too big. Slink talked about how they hadn't won the game for the last few years, and that everyone wanted a good game this year. Jessie zoned in and out, daydreaming about various things in the future.

They had been talking for about twenty minutes when Buzz stood up.

"I'm going to go get something to drink. You want anything Jess?"

"Um, can you just get me a coke or something?" She asked. He nodded, and walked off quickly.

The door to the suite opened, and Woody and Dolly walked in together. Jessie squinted in their direction. Something seemed familiar…

"No way!" She jumped up from the couch and ran over to the couple. Dolly gave her a confused glance as Jessie threw her arms around a surprised Woody.

"Woody! It's you! It's you!" She yelled excitedly. Woody stood straight with his arms at his side, not recognizing the crazy girl hugging him.

"Uh, yeah, it's me. And who are you?" Woody asked, removing the young woman from his neck.

"Well doncha remember? We broke the mailbox at the Pride family reunion of '99!" She exclaimed, as her green eyes lit up. Woody's mind flooded with memories.

"Cousin Jessie? I haven't seen ya in ages li'l girl!" He patted her on the back as realization hit him. "I can't believe you're here and in college and everything."

"Well here I am!" Jessie turned to Dolly "Woody is my older cousin. We used to get into so much trouble. But we haven't seen each other in years!"

"It's crazy." Woody said, smiling. He shrugged off his jacket and hung it on a rack. "I'm gonna go get a drink. You want something Dolly?"

"A bottle of water if you can find one." She replied. She watched as he walked off before turning to Jessie.

Jessie spoke first "You'll come with Woody but not me? You're not picking Pride favorites are you?"

"No, no. He just sounded lonely, and…and I missed him." Dolly admitted. "Who did you come with?

"Buzz. He went to get me a drink, so he should be back any minute." She glanced toward the kitchen, but couldn't see him. Someone tapped her on the shoulder.

"Excuse me ma'm. I was wondering if I could ask you a question." A heavily British accented voice spoke to her from behind. She turned to see a boy with curly brown hair, the owner of the voice.

"Sure. What's up partner?" Her southern twang rang out as she hooked her fingers through her belt loops.

The boy puffed out his chest. "My name is Barry, and I'm the star student of the drama department, national thespian, and part of the Broadway Cooperation of Theatre." Dolly cocked her head to the side.

"Um, English please?" She asked. Barry rolled his eyes.

"Shouldn't have expected much. Not many people like me appreciate theater to an educational extent." He responded, brushing off his green outfit.

"He's an actor Dolly. And by the looks of it, not a very nice one." Jessie's glared at Barry. He looked taken aback.

"I'm quite sorry. I didn't mean to offend you both. That aside, I was wondering if I could ask you a favor Jessie."

"Depends what it is."

"I heard you playing piano in the auditorium the other day. We need someone to play during our production of _Romeo and Juliet _in two months."

Jessie's eyes widened. "How did you hear me playing?"

"I came in looking for the drama professor. You were there instead."

_Barry pushed open the heavy doors to the auditorium. The smell of the wooden stage and the atmosphere in general caused a wave of nostalgia to run through him. This place was his second home, where he was someone new each time he performed a show. _

_He peeked in the lighting and sound booth, but didn't find Professor Unkrich in there. It was then that he heard a soothing melody coming for the stage. _

_He glanced down and found a redheaded girl sitting at the baby grand piano, her fingers flying across the keys. Her eyes were closed, and she seemed wrapped up in the music. It was mesmerizing, beautiful. _

_Barry closed the door to the sound booth quietly and left the building. He knew how it felt to get caught up in the moment of something while onstage. _

"Oh." Jessie said "Well that's a piece that I've known for a long time, and I don't think I'm really that good at piano. It might be better"-

"You'll get paid two hundred dollars per show."

Her eyes lit up "I'll do it!" Barry smiled, and promised to get her more information soon. Dolly smirked when he walked off.

"You're going to put up with fussy drama kids for two months?"

"Hey, I'm a poor college student." She said laughing "I need the money!"

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Buzz dug through another cooler in the kitchen sink looking for another can of Coke. All he could find was Pepsi. Didn't these people know that the two could not be substituted for each other?

He found a red can in the very bottom, beneath pounds of cold ice. He grabbed it and turned to go back to Jessie. But he ran straight into Woody.

Woody's eyes narrowed and Buzz's grip on the can tightened. The spoke at the same time.

"What are you doing here?"

Woody cleared his throat "I came with Dolly."

"I came with Jessie."

"WHAT?" Woody yelled, causing glances from other people in the kitchen. He ignored them.

"I said I came with Jessie. We're good friends. So back off cowboy." Buzz responded, glaring at his roommate.

Woody groaned. "Listen, Jessie is my little cousin. Don't you dare try anything funny, Lightbeer."

And with that he walked off.

_Great. _Buzz thought. _Just what I need. A big-brother type guy to protect Jessie. _

He groaned slightly before walking back out into the living room and Betty and Bart, who had just show up.

"Oh it's so good that you came darling!" Betty said, an arm around her husband. Bart looked a lot like his wife, tan, curvy and short. His black had covered his bald head, and Buzz walked over to him.

"Buzzy boy!" Bart exclaimed, taking one of the cokes out of his hand "Thanks for getting me a drink." Buzz groaned.

"And thanks for making e dehydrated Bart." Bart rolled his eyes and handed him a bottle.

"Just have a beer. Maybe that'll relax you a little bit."

Buzz looked at the bottle. He wasn't too fond of alcohol, but his thirst over ruled his mind, and he pressed the bottle to his lips, drinking most of the contents.

Jessie walked over a minute later. He handed the can of soda to her, and she smiled at him and pecked him on the cheek.

"Well aren't you two just precious!" Betty said loudly. The room full of people glanced in their direction. Buzz and Jessie smiled awkwardly and disappeared onto the balcony.

"Was it something I said?" Betty asked her husband, who shrugged in response.

"Hey guys!" Woody called, walking over with Dolly at his side "This is Dolly."

"Nice to meet you honey." Betty said sweetly.

"Likewise." Dolly spoke. She spotted Rex and Trixie in her peripheral vision and waved them over.

"Hey guys!" Trixie squealed "We got way past the level we wanted to, so we decided to come!"

"You should have seen it, the graphics were amazing." Rex noted. "Were are Buzz and Jessie?"

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Buzz and Jessie hurried onto the balcony after Betty's embarrassing statement. Buzz's cheeks were slightly pink.

"Sorry about that. She means well, really." He said, shaking out his hair with his hands.

"It's fine." Jessie said. She couldn't help but notice how good he looked in the moonlight. And here they were on a balcony overlooking the lake.

"Really, they're good people-" Buzz stopped when he saw Jessie's sensual gaze. Her red hair seemed to reflect the light, and it looked gorgeous. He locked his eyes with hers, and brushed his hand against her cheek softly. She placed her hand over his, felling his callused hands against her skin.

"Buzz…" She breathed softly, her eyes closed. The music inside seemed to have softened, and no one was around them.

"Yes?" He asked quietly. She opened her eyes and stared into his blue ones. They seemed to pierce through her heart. Her adrenaline took over, and she lost all sense of logic.

She leaned forward more quickly than she had expected and pressed her lips upon his. Buzz's eyes widened out of shock but he soon melted against her. He placed his hands on her hips and in turn she wrapped hers around his neck, never breaking apart. Both their eyes were closed, but they moved together in harmony.

Jessie's eyes opened after she realized what she was doing. She couldn't believe she would let herself do something so…unlike her. She broke the kiss and pushed Buzz away slightly, her hand flying to her mouth.

"J-Jessie?" He stuttered, cursing himself for sounding so stupid. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to take it that far." He wasn't sure why he was apologizing since she had started it, but he felt the need to do so.

"Do you want me to take you home?"

She didn't respond, so he stepped closer. She subconsciously pushed him away. But rebellion pulsed through her veins and she smiled.

"I want you to kiss me again."

He grinned and pulled her close.

"Hey!" An angry voice rang out from behind them. The couple turned and found Woody angrily walking over to them, leaving his group of friends in the living room. He stood in front of Buzz

"She pushed you away didn't she? Leave her alone!" Woody shouted, causing a scene in the middle of the party.

Jessie's mouth gaped "No, Woody, it's not-"

"I don't think it's any of your business." Buzz responded. Jessie was surprised at his rude response.

"Buzz?" She asked, confused.

"I think it is plenty of my business if you're going to hurt my cousin." Woody retaliated. "So get out of here before I pound you to a puddle."

"You think you could beat me up?" Buzz challenged him "You're arms are as thick as a thread of cotton!"

Woody snapped. He grabbed Buzz by the arms and slammed him into the glass sliding door, shattering it completely. Shards of glass cut Buzz's arms and face. They tumbled into the living room, ignoring Jessie's screams. Woody started punching Buzz's face and Buzz bit down on his hand, causing his fingers to bleed.

"Stop! Stop it now, please!" Dolly shrieked. She ran over to the boys that were in a heap on the floor, trying to break up the fight. In the process, one of them threw a punch at the other and missed completely. It landed on Dolly's nose, and blood started pouring out. Her eyes filled with tears as the pain started to set in, and she cupped her hands around her face and left.

"Dolly!" Jessie screamed over the noise. Woody and Buzz hadn't noticed. They were standing but still beating each other. Woody's face was bruised and Buzz was still bleeding from the glass.

"Stop! Both of you, quit!" Jessie tried to grab Buzz off of Woody. Woody rammed into Buzz, knocking Jessie off of him and into the solid wall. Her head hit first and she fell to the ground unconscious. The dark slowly drowned out the shouts, noise, and music as she faded into blackness.

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***Cue dramatic music* bum bum bum….**

**Its Spring Break, so I'll be at the beach for a week. But I'll try to post some drabbles. If y'all would review, I would be really happy. I worked pretty hard on this chapter, and I hoped y'all enjoyed it. I'll post again when I'm tan and happy! :D**


	9. Not Ourselves

**Thanks to all who reviewed, alerted, and favorited. I don't thank y'all enough for your support. :D Enjoy the chapter, it's a bit short but the last one was extra long. Hopefully, it'll even out. Enjoy! **

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Everything was white. That was the only color she could see. For a second Jessie thought she had dies. Then she came to her senses and figured out she was in a room. She sat up quickly before she could realize she had been lying down. Her vision adjusted and she realized she was in hospital room. Footsteps and voices could be heard in the hallway outside as nurses and doctors in scrubs walked by.

Jessie glanced around, trying to get a hold on her surroundings. Trixie was asleep in a chair by the window, small rays of morning sunlight were peeking through it. A portable video game and Dolly's purse was next to her, but the purple haired girl was nowhere to be seen.

Jessie tried to figure out what was going on. Faded memories of the night before came back to her. She remembered shattered glass and a big fight but couldn't remember other details. She struggled to recall what had happened that had landed her in a hospital bed.

Jessie started to get dizzy, and fell back down onto her pillow. Trixie stirred awake at the movement. She gasped excitedly when she saw Jessie with her eyes open.

"Jessie! You're awake! We were all so worried about you! Are you okay? In pain? I was so scared for you!" Her blue eyes looked worried but she had a smile on her face. Jessie chuckled.

"I'm alive Trixie. You can stop worrying. As for the pain part, I'm experiencing a bit of that."

A high-pitched noise sounded, and Jessie winced and put a hand over her ear. "What's that ringing noise?" She asked. Trixie paused to listen for a moment, raising her eyebrows.

"I don't hear anything. But anyways, Jessie I heard about how the fight started. Dolly told me. She's alright too, no broken nose. Just a lot of bruises and soreness. But I can't believe that Woody would beat up Buzz because of you two being together! That's crazy."

Jessie had trouble comprehending what Trixie was talking about. But she kept talking a mile a minute, her hands moving with the words.

"And then there's the whole thing with Woody and Dolly. She won't even speak to him right now, and he deserves it! What kind of jerk punches a girl? Are you going to stop talking to Buzz? Or are you going to break up with him? Because none of us would blame you if you do either. Then again you weren't really dating…"

"Buzz?" Jessie asked, confused. A doctor walked in the room as Trixie started rambling about the gray areas of dating.

"Oh, good, you're up. A lot of us were starting to get worried. How long have you been awake for?"

"Um, probably ten minutes." Jessie replied.

"Well I'm going to go ahead and ask you a few questions. Jessie, do you know who I am?" He asked. She stared back at him, having no idea.

"No. Sorry." He laughed and Jessie felt more confused.

"Well that's okay because we've never met! I'm Doctor Lasseter, and you're here because you hit your head very hard last night. Do you remember what happened?"

Jessie rubbed her head, trying to bring back recollections "There was a party…and a bunch of my friends were there." She gestured to Trixie "I came with…someone. Buzz I think. We were all having fun and talking. And I remember that there was a fight and I got knocked into the wall. But that's all."

Trixie glanced worriedly at the doctor. Jessie was missing some very crucial details, details that she should normally remember. Dr. Lasseter wrote something down and adjusted his glasses.

"What kind of wall was it?"

"…It was a wall." Jessie responded. "There might have been steel columns in it somewhere, because it's a relatively new building."

"That would make more sense." The pen scribbled across the clipboard again, and Trixie tugged on a blonde ringlet.

"Okay Miss Pride, just a few more questions. Have you felt dizzy, confused, or had a ringing in your ears since you've woken up?"

"Yeah. All three." Jessie said. Trixie's eyes widened. Dr. Lasseter continued to ask questions about her memories and symptoms for a while. Dolly walked in while he was still talking to Jessie. Her nose was bandanged, but she grinned when she saw her red headed friend. By the time the doctor was finished, bright sunlight was shining through the windows.

"Well, that's all I need to know. You have a mild concussion and slight amnesia. But if all goes well then you can be released in a few days." Dr. Lasseter clicked his pen and put in his shirt pocket. "Overall, I'd say you were lucky."

"Amnesia?" Trixie asked "That isn't permanent is it?"

"No, quite the contrary actually." Dr. Lasseter corrected her "Her memory should be restored soon. In all, she only seems to be missing events from last night." He gave a small smile. "A nurse will be in with food shortly, try to stay awake." He briskly walked out of the room and Dolly ran over to the bed the moment he left.

"Jessie! You're awake! Thank goodness you're okay!" She gingerly hugged her friend who giggled.

"Yeah, I'm okay." Jessie said, with a slight smile. Trixie pulled Dolly toward her and whispered something as Dolly's cheerful smile faded. She straightened up and walked back over to the bed.

"Jessie, what do you remember about the fight? Do you remember how it got started?" Dolly bit her lip, nervous for the answer.

"All I remember is talking to Betty, and glass from the porch door shattering, and getting knocked into the wall. And all the stuff that you heard me tell the doctor." Jessie yawned.

"So you don't remember being with Buzz?" Trixie asked.

"Well he and I went together. But that's all." Dolly and Trixie exchanged glances, and Dolly sat down at the foot of the bed.

"Alright, there's some stuff that you need to know." Dolly said knowingly.

"Like what?"

"Like what really happened last night." Trixie interjected "You should remember yourself eventually, it was a pretty big deal. But we think you should know about it now."

"Okay. What did I do? Did I start a fight by saying something stupid like how the statistics teacher has a nose shaped like a squash?" Jessie joked. Her friends laughed.

"It's a little different than that." Trixie said. Dolly inhaled before speaking.

"Last night, you and Buzz walked onto the porch. And because we're your best friends we were spying on you." Jessie gave Dolly a surprised look but couldn't help smiling.

"Anyways, you guys kissed."

"And it was so cute! It was in the moonlight, overlooking the lake!" Trixie squealed. Dolly raised an eyebrow, but continued the story.

"But you pushed him away. So I guess you didn't want to kiss him and you were annoyed or something. And he leaned toward you but you shoved him away again. And then he tried to kiss you a second time and Woody had seen the whole thing, and he got mad. Thought that Buzz was overstepping your boundaries or something."

"Really? That's what started the fight?" Jessie asked, "If Buzz had just backed off then none of this would have happened." She blew her messy hair out of her eyes.

"Well it happened. Are you going to talk to Buzz about it?" Dolly asked. "Because he's worried sick about you. Trixie told him to go buy you a get well present just so he'd leave the hospital for a bit."

"Yeah, we'll talk eventually. I'm gonna wait and see if my memories come back. And for this headache to go away." Jessie replied "If I still don't remember I'll get his side of the story."

"Wow, how mature of you. Dolly is just ignoring Woody." Trixie stated, pulling out her cell phone to check the time.

"Trixie!"

"I don't blame you." Jessie said with a slight smile "Any guy who almost breaks his girlfriend's nose deserves the silent treatment for a few days. But out of curiosity, where is Woody?"

"I-I don't know. Probably his dorm. He tried to talk to me after I got out of the emergency room, but I made it pretty clear that I don't want anything to do with him right now."

"Damn Dolly. Who wears the pants in your relationship?" Jessie laughed. "That's not really like you."

"Well it wasn't really like him to start a fight." She said quietly, looking out the window. Her expression has turned a bit sad, as if she was suddenly aware of the hurt he had caused her. "I guess none of us have really been ourselves lately."

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

**Again, sorry for being gone so long. I hope you all liked this chapter, even if I didn't and it was super short. Writers block hit me for a bit. The next one will be longer, and funnier. :-) Review please, and thanks for reading!**


	10. Waffles

Buzz was on a quest.

Not really. But he felt like he was on an epic yet extremely difficult adventure.

He had been driving around town all through the night looking for some place that he could buy Jessie a get well gift. He had yet to succeed. The town was a decent size, he was just having troubling finding a store open in the early hours of the morning. But even if he had found a store, it would be near impossible to find a gift or card that said _"I'm so sorry for giving you a concussion and amnesia and making your cousin and possibly you hate me but get well soon!" _

He parked his car in the parking lot of an all-night Waffle house, and rubbed his face. The exhaustion of staying up all night was finally starting to hit. He didn't think it was smart to return to his dorm, considering the state of him and his roommate. Even if he had returned sleep would have been inevitable. Buzz leaned his forehead against the steering wheel as memories flew back in his head.

_Woody's fists kept flying at his face, and he was lucky enough to dodge them while trying to hit him back harder. They were in the center of the floor, surrounded by people shouting around them. Buzz considered himself lucky that he wasn't seriously injured yet._

_Woody threw a particularly hard punch that Buzz managed to avoid. His hand went past his face and collided with something else. Someone yelped but they kept fighting, oblivious to everything else._

_Buzz stood up and kept fighting despite his exhaustion. He felt a grip on his shoulders, but Woody rammed into him immediately. Whoever was on him had lost their grip, and he heard a thud. _

"_Stop! Stop fighting! Someone's seriously hurt! Dolly's hurt!" Trixie's voice pierced through the noise. Someone announced that an ambulance was on its way. The crowd became slightly quiet and awkward. _

_At the sound of Dolly's name, Woody dropped his hands. He and Buzz stared at each other for a moment, mixed expressions covering their faces. Woody's expression was a mixture of anger and worry. He opened his mouth to speak, then changed his mind, turned and ran to find Dolly._

_Buzz rubbed his face and winced at the bruises from when Woody had rarely hit him. Despite all of the commotion, neither of them had gotten badly injured. He glanced around to look for Jessie, but couldn't find her amidst the pandemonium. Someone was grabbing the cooler of beer to hide it for when the paramedics came, another was trying to quickly clean the broken glass. People trying to figure out what had happened, or were trying to find their bags and jackets to leave. The room was in a state of chaos. _

_Buzz turned around and finally saw Jessie on the floor, her eyes closed. A few people were around her, whispering something about a concussion or head damage, yet not doing anything to help her. His eyes widened as he bent down. Her breathing was shallow, and she was unusually pale. He picked her up in his arms and lifted her off the floor._

_He pieced together the last few minutes before realizing that he had probably been the one to hurt her. Ice-cold yet silent panic swept through his body. The paramedics finally came in; one of them escorted Dolly out and the other three came over to where Buzz was holding Jessie. He watched as they carefully took her and drove away in the ambulance. He finally snapped out of shock and ran to his car to meet them at the hospital. _

Buzz pushed open the door to the Waffle House and was greeted with the smell of maple syrup and eggs. He ordered a cup of black coffee as he took a seat at a barstool, and caught his reflection in a hanging mirror. He looked terrible.

"Hard night?" The southern waitress asked, pushing the mug in front of him. Her tone was sweet and maternal.

"Hard is an understatement." Buzz said, pouring cream into his drink and taking a large sip of it. Another customer walked in, the bell above the door chiming. Buzz was starting into his coffee, waiting for the caffeine to take effect.

"The usual Marge" A familiar tone called out. The waitress started pouring batter into a waffle iron as the owner of the voice sat next to Buzz. He glanced at him, realizing the stranger was Buttercup.

"Hey Buttercup. What are you doing out so late? Or early…I guess." Buzz looked at the clock, realizing it was four in the morning.

"Going home to visit my folks for the weekend. I live six hours away; they probably miss me." Buttercup shook his hair and his blonde locks fell across his eyes, giving him his usual mysterious appearance.

"You need money don't you Buttercup?" Buzz smirked. He pushed his empty cup to the side as the waitress walked by and refilled it.

"Hell yes." He replied "It's hard being a broke college kid." He studied Buzz's exhausted face for a moment before continuing "What about you? What are you doing out at this time of day?"

Buzz glanced back at his now-filled coffee "It's a long story." He could feel the caffeine starting to buzz through him. "In a nutshell, there was a party and things got…bad."

"I was there." Buttercup said, as Marge set down a chocolate chip waffle in front of him. He spread butter on top of it as he continued "Saw the whole thing Buzz. Quite a fight."

Buzz sighed slightly "Well now Jessie's in the hospital with a bad head injury, Dolly with a possible broken nose. Woody wants to pound me to dirt, and I've probably got a reputation that could curdle dairy"

"I think Woody should be the one worried about his reputation Buzz". Buttercup pointed out in between bites "You forget that most people saw _him _attack _you_. No one could hear what he was yelling at you about over the music. They just saw shouting and fighting."

"Really?" Buzz asked "Well now he has another reason to kill me."

Buttercup put down his fork "I'm not going to say I told you so."

"What do you mean?"

Buttercup wiped his mouth with a paper napkin "Alcohol does stuff to you."

"Buttercup I wasn't drunk." Buzz retorted "No one gets drunk off of one beer."

"But do you think you would have done that if you hadn't had a drink? If the beer hadn't loosened you up, would you have beat up Woody?"

Buzz pondered this thought, hating to think about an answer "I-I'm not sure. Maybe not."

"It's not business anyway." Buttercup pushed his empty plate to the side as he dug his hand into his pocket "But just in case you think Woody will murder you in your sleep." Buttercup dropped a silver dorm key onto the counter and stood up "It's number 231 in Maxwell. "

"Buttercup you don't have to offer your room to me." Buzz said. But Buttercup had already walked up to the register and quickly paid for his food without asking for change. He smiled and said goodbye to the waitress who beamed at the cash before heading toward the door.

"Wait!" Buzz called after him. Buttercup paused.

"Thanks."

Buttercup smiled. "No problem man. Good luck with everything. You'll need it."

**Alright, go ahead and give it to me. I know I've been gone for months and months and I apologize for that. And considering this chapter sucks, I know you guys may not be too happy. Nevertheless I am back and not going anywhere. I plan to continue to write for FF, I love it too much to quit. So again, sorry for my absence and the sucky chapter. Things start picking up in the next one, promise :) **

**This one is short and lame, but I promisepromise it gets better, okay? Stay with me, I should update this weekend sometime. Reviews would be so lovely, considering I'm not sure how many people are still reading after all this time. Thanks for coming back if you are an original reader, and hello to my new ones! Love you all so much!**


	11. Lighten up

**Thanks to sg1princess8, purpledragon6, blknblupanther1 ,Jessie - Princess Prairie, Cowgirl, Supa Supa Bad Truly Mad Moves, xxxrainingxxicexxx , and SnowstormInJuly for the reviews on chapter 10. You guys are amazing, really. Thank you sososo much. :) **

Dolly didn't have a class until three on Monday, so she took it upon herself to drive Jessie back to campus from the hospital. Jessie had been kept in the hospital all weekend as the doctors continued to run tests on her before deciding it was safe for her to leave. As the small car sped along the highway bright sunlight spilled onto Jessie, her red hair reflecting it. It was mid-morning and warm outside, but fall was on its way.

Jessie still didn't have any recollection of the party Friday night. Apparently her amnesia wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been compared to people who had lost their memory completely. But over the weekend Jessie realized she had no memory of second grade, her grandparents 50th anniversary, or the summer before high school either; that was enough lost memories to irritate her. She could recall the events themselves, but not remember anything that happened during the time periods. The doctors had assured her that if she settled back into her original routine and surrounded herself with familiar things, then her memory would eventually come back. Eventually.

She had spent the weekend being visited by Trixie, Dolly, Betty, Rex, Slink and various girls from her dorm but neither Woody nor Buzz had come by. Jessie had asked for Dolly to repeat the story of what happened with him and herself on Friday, and Dolly gave the same story every time. Buzz kissed her and she had pushed him away. Twice. And he had had the nerve to try and kiss her again, and Woody noticed and started the fight. It sounded so simple in her head, yet the drama caused by it was far more complex. As for Woody, she wasn't sure what to think of him at the moment considering Dolly's resentment. Jessie also had no idea who was ignoring who and who believed what side of the story. She would have to ask Dolly or Trixie about that later. But as far as her thoughts went, Jessie was irritated with Buzz for starting everything and apparently giving her a concussion. Her thoughts were simple and concise.

"-and so I said 'He gave my friend a concussion, I have a right to be angry with him too!'" Dolly chattered on about a conversation with another classmate. "It seems neither Buzz nor Woody were acting smart that evening." She made a sharp lane change and Jessie hit her funny bone on the car door, causing her whole arm to tingle.

"So you're still mad at Woody as well?" Jessie replied rubbing her elbow.

Dolly bit her lip "Considering the guy didn't have the courage to come talk to me, yes."

"But didn't you make it clear that you didn't want to talk to him?" Jessie pointed out. They turned off an exit ramp in the direction of their university. "That's probably why he's been giving you space.

"Well, yes, but he should still make an effort! I can't always be the controlling one!"

Jessie chuckled at Dolly's logic. "So, just so I'm clear, do you know how everyone else is taking in the whole dramatic experience?"

Dolly took a deep breath "Most people blame Woody for everything because it seems that he beat up Buzz for no reason. Hamm, Bart, and myself are furious with him. Rex and Slink are shocked because they were really close with Woody, so they're not really sure what to believe. It seems like the guys are angrier about the fighting while the girls are more upset about our injuries." Dolly glanced over at Jessie, who was trying to process all the information. "Betty can never find a fault in anyone so she's neutral, as well as Trixie. I'm sure they've all got their opinions and ideas but they don't know what to think. And then there's me and you, and we're pretty much annoyed with both of these guys."

Jessie blinked "That's a whole lot of drama."

Dolly rolled her eyes "Believe me, I had to figure it all out while you were stuck in the hospital. Not a fun time."

At that moment, Jessie's cell phone buzzed. She pulled it out of her back pocket and pressed it to her ear.

"Hello?"

"Is this Jessica Pride?" A stuffy British accent greeted her. Jessie didn't recognize it but the owner of the voice clearly knew her.

"Uh, yeah? Who is this?"

"This is Barry Shusherton. We spoke at the party on Friday night?"

Dolly raised an eyebrow, wondering who was calling.

"Um I'm having trouble remembering. It's been a long weekend."

"Yes yes I heard all about it. Such a riveting story, really, you should submit it to a playwright." At this comment, Jessie wondered how many people outside her friend group had heard about the party. It had only been two days, surely not too many people could know. Barry continued speaking without waiting for an answer.

"But I'm calling because you said you would take the job of playing piano for the production of _Romeo and Juliet_. And I need to make sure you can actually play something besides chopsticks." Barry explained. He sounded out of breath, like he was rushing somewhere. "Can you meet me in the auditorium tonight around seven? I'll bring sheet music."

"Um ok." Jessie wished she could remember agreeing to this. "How much am I getting paid again?"

"One hundred and fifty a show."

"Ok. I'll be there." Jessie hung up her phone and looked at Dolly's puzzled face.

"Barry. Apparently I agreed to play piano for the theatre's production of _Romeo and Juliet. _As if I don't have enough to worry about."

"Jessie, lighten up! I miss the crazy, spastic roommate that I had before all this drama. Go meet Barry later and get the music and have fun with it ok? For me?" Dolly asked, a pleading look on her face. Jessie grinned.

"Will do. And if you really want me spastic, buy me some chocolate."

Woody was a wreck.

He was lying in his dorm, staring at the ceiling fan as it went in circles. Buzz hadn't been there the entire weekend. Truthfully it hadn't been much different when Buzz was there. On the rare occasion they had spoken, the conversations had been short and polite. Homework was done in the library or in a classroom. They fell asleep in silence usually. So it wasn't the quietness that bothered him.

He was sure most people thought he was scum And considering the almost-breaking-Dolly's-nose thing, he couldn't blame them for hating him. He hated himself for doing it.

"_Dolly's hurt!"_

_Trixie's voice pierced through the clamor, and at the sound of Dolly's name Woody stopped moving. He stared at Buzz for a moment, trying to think of something to say, but his emotions were so tangled that he simply turned around and followed Trixie._

_Someone had already called the paramedics. Apparently someone else had been more hurt than Dolly, so they felt the need to call for help. Woody didn't know who the other victim was. He stepped into the open bathroom door where Dolly was trying to get control of herself and her bleeding._

Oh shit. _Woody thought. He stepped inside and Dolly, noticing him, backed away. Her expression was a mixture of fear and anger._

"_S-stop." She said, quickly wiping her eyes. "Get away from m-me."It was getting harder for her to breathe because of all the blood. _

"_Doll. Please let me help." Woody reached toward her and she backed up another step. _

"_How do I know you won't break another one of my b-bones? I'm not a ragdoll, you can't just throw me around and hit me!" _

"_I didn't throw you around! It was an accident, I had no idea you were behind Buzz-" _

"_Well maybe you shouldn't have been fighting in the first place!"_

"_Dolly, the paramedics are here." Trixie said quietly from the hallway. Dolly stepped around Woody and out of the bathroom. Woody ran after her. _

"_Dolly, wait."_

"_Leave me alone!" She screamed. "I don't want anything to do with you. Ever." _

He had called and left voicemails explaining himself, but she had yet to talk to him. Woody rolled over onto his stomach and groaned loudly. Dolly wasn't the only one ignoring him. It seemed as if all of his friends had assumed he was the bad guy. Even Slink hadn't called him or come to visit. Woody closed his eyes, trying to figure out what to do. But all he was me with was more silence.

He propped himself up on his elbows. The logical and humbling solution would be to fix things with Buzz, but that wasn't an option right now. Probably not ever. He had pretty much ruined his chances of any friendship with him on Friday. Woody sighed, and rolled over once more.

Buzz sat up from the mattress, sleepy but awake after a few hours of sleeping merely to pass time. The blind were shut so he had no idea what time of day it was, but he guessed it was late afternoon.

Buttercup was due back sometime that night, so Buzz knew he had to clear out today. The dorm was cluttered, but far from messy, and Buzz had tried not to disrupt anything from its original position. Not that he had to worry about Buttercup being angry with him. No one seemed angry with him. In fact most of his friends considered him a victim and Woody the bad guy. Hamm and Bart had called and extended invitations to hang out, but Buzz really only wanted to hear from Jessie.

In a way, the silence was worse than anger. He knew she had been capable of talking to him in the last few days, yet Buzz had not heard a word from her. He didn't know what to make of it.

He pushed himself up from off of the bed and started gathering his things into his small duffle bag. He didn't want to think about going back to his shared dorm, but knew it was inevitable. He mulled over the coming week, social activities and schoolwork combining in his head.

"Crap." He muttered, dropping his bag to the floor and picking up a binder. He had completely forgotten about his astronomy project. It was due tomorrow. And he had yet to start.

Buzz rushed out of the room, on course for the auditorium.

"So the performances would be sometime in October, possibly sooner if this theatre company can get its act together."

Jessie chuckled, gripping the banister as she walked up the stairs to the stage. Barry turned to look at her.

"Something funny?"

"'Get its act together.'" She grinned. Barry stared at her, so she continued "And it's a play...You just made a pun." Jessie smiled. Barry remained expressionless.

"I suppose so. But there is nothing punny about Romeo and Juilet. Star-crossed lovers who are destined to die. The actor must become the character, no matter the emotional depth and range of grief it may be going through."

Jessie raised an eyebrow "Right. So what will I be playing?"

"Oh basic music, nothing you can't handle, I'm sure. Some pieces are more dramatic, others more mellow to accompany scene changes and such." Barry nodded as he spoke, then turned to Jessie. An awkward silence filled the air as she stood there, not knowing what he wanted.

"So…can I have the sheet music?"

"Oh! Oh of course! Why I can't believe that I forgot about that!" Barry's cheeks tinted pink with embarrassment "It's probably in one of the classrooms behind the stage; the drama classes use them during the week, you know. I shall be back momentarily." He walked off briskly. "Sorry again!" He called from far back in the stage.

Jessie laughed quietly to herself. She was trying to take Dolly's advice on lightening up. She pulled out the wooden piano bench and placed her fingertips on the smooth keys. She figured it was best to warm up before playing the real music.

She slowly started clair de lune, the piece Barry had originally heard her play. It was her signature piece, the one that she had always been good at. Again she found herself closing her eyes as she concentrated on the music. It was only about ten seconds before she paused. What came next?

Jessie blinked. She had had clair de lune memorized since she was young. Random forgetfulness was certainly odd. She shook out her hands and started over, chalking it up to not playing for several days.

She felt more comfortable as she progressed but the found herself stuck in the same place. Jessie plunked a note off-key that made her wince and began to get frustrated with herself. Surely the stress of this audition was getting to her.

Again she began to play, closing her eyes in complete focus. She was determined to not mess up this time. All was going smoothly until her fingers froze, completely unaware of what to do. She had lost her ability to play piano.

Angrily, Jessie pushed back the bench and stood up just as the side entryway to the auditorium opened. Jessie peered toward it and saw Buzz walk in quickly, unaware of her presence. Something clicked in her mind.

"You."

Buzz was taken aback, not originally realizing Jessie was there. He was grateful to see her but the anger etched on her face was not a welcoming sight.

"Um, hello. Are you feeling better? I wanted to come by the hospital but I thought-"

"This is your entire damn fault." She stomped down the stairs and met him face to face. Buzz had never seen her so angry. He noticed a bandage on her arm from where an IV must have been inserted. Guilt flooded him.

"I'm not sure what you're talking about but if you let me explain-"

"Explain? Explain?" She yelled, her voice echoing in the rafters "Because of whatever you did at that stupid party I've lost part of my memory and my ability to play piano! You have also caused enough drama worthy of a soap opera, messed up Dolly and Woody's relationship, and given me quite the bump on my head if you haven't noticed!"

"Now wait a second, I did nothing to Woody and Dolly. That was your cousin's own fault." Buzz replied, his voice a little edgier. She couldn't be blame him for the entire situation.

"Buzz I know that you caused Woody to start fighting, so quit acting all innocent. In fact, I'm pretty happy he didn't let you try to eat my face after I had pushed you away."

Buzz blinked "You've got to be kidding me."

Jessie groaned "Do I sound like I'm kidding? Because I thought I was being pretty clear."

"Um no. No no no. You are in fact not being clear at all Jessie." Buzz replied, slightly surprised at his own courage "I don't know what you think happened on Friday, but some wires definitely got crossed. You asked me to kiss you _again, _and Woody flipped out because he didn't hear our conversation. You're believing some fantasy story."

"That is the _stupidest_ lie I have ever heard!" Jessie yelled "You really think I'm going to believe that? I'm not that gullible. And don't think you can go all 'macho man' on me and tell me what to believe and whatnot."

"Excuse me? I'm not telling you what to believe, I'm telling you the _truth. _You're just too ignorant to believe it."

Jessie was writhing in anger. All thoughts of lightening up had left her.

"Ignorant? I think your crazy idea of me wanting you to kiss me again makes you ignorant! I would never have asked that from an inconsiderate, selfish, uncaring jerk like you!"

"I have found the sheet music!" Barry's voice rang out from the stage as he jogged toward the front. When he saw Jessie staring angrily at Buzz below the stage, he backed away slightly.

"I-I must have interrupted something. Pardon me."

"It's ok Barry. I'll catch up with you later about that sheet music."Jessie replied, struggling to keep her voice calm. Barry nodded slowly, and quickly walked back to where he has come from. Jessie turned to Buzz again.

"Go." She whispered "Don't ever talk to me again."

"Jessie-"

"Go!" She yelled. Buzz stared at her for a moment before turning around and leaving the same way he had come. The door clicked shut and Jessie slid to the ground, her back against the wall. She covered her face and tried to control her sobs, but they weren't silent. A soft echo bounced off the walls as she was left alone.

**Whew. This was hard to write, but it hit around the 3,000 words mark. I owed you guys a decent chapter after the last one being so short, so here it is. Hope you enjoyed it!**

**There's quite a bit of drama, more than I usually like to write because it can get confusing. Hopefully I didn't confuse you all too much. :) Let me know your thoughts on everything. **

**Thanks again to all those who are still reading and reviewing. You're all amazing. I wouldn't be writing without you. I'll update again soon!**

**-LilStarWriter**


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